Apartamentos Resort Sierra Nevada Monachil

... shortly after 4pm and caught a taxi to the hotel. Lucky for us, by Novemeber it is off season here in Spain and thus we were able to get a great, cheap rate on a great little hostel near the Alhambra. I am so used to staying in hostels with 6 to 8 other people in a room that it was nice to travel and have a private room with nice facilities. For only $15 euro a night per person, we were able to stay at a place somewhat equivalent to a nicer "Days Inn" or a low star ...

After two days of walking the beautiful hills of Frigiliana, we made the trip to Granada so that we could see The Alhambra – the Crown Jewel of Andulusia. The bus trip took us through the Sierra Nevada region of Spain on a beautiful sunny day; it took almost three hours to get there and then another short bus ride to the top of the hill. When we arrived, we purchased our tickets and got 2 audio guides in English. We then entered a world that has to ...

... the train was ready to begin its journey, the small TV turned on and a safety film was shown, after all, we were going to be traveling at almost 200 miles per hour! Our train traveled most of the time at speeds of 300 km per hour (or just about 190 miles per hour). Spain has some beautiful countryside! There are mountains, ocean views, vineyards, small villages, and deserts. We traveled through all of these areas. Aside from ...

... with a sound that sounded like a cat in pain. Whether it was a mating call or a territorial dispute we do not know. Domestic animals abounded. There were four cats, one of which made himself at home in the caravan at every opportunity. There was the depressed ***** that had lost her eight puppies and wandered around and around looking for food. She was all bone and teat, in need of a worming pill or two, but a really nice ...

We spent the morning touring the Real Alcazar (did you know that the royal Spanish family still uses the upper quarters?) It's a beautiful space, and you can still feel the Moorish influence oozing from every pore of the South - the Spanish Royals even adapted it for themselves - this patio, shown in the pictures, was originally used as a space for people to clean themselves before they went to pray, and its walls are covered in azulejos. As you can see from the ...

... dragged Justin back to the city center. We found a taxi. I lost an argument with the driver on why I couldn't eat ice cream in his cab. Thankfully, he still took us to the bus station. I jokingly asked Justin if he still wanted to marry me and I think he might have smiled. At least he got to see the Alhambra, which was the goal. Once in Jaen, we dropped our suitcases off at my apartment, got ready, and were on the go again. We ...

... One guy from a tapas bar along the way approached us, and feeling a little hungry, we went inside. It went from receiving free beers and tinto veranos, to five different kinds of potato tapas! Once we were done eating and made it to the Chiputeria I found my hermano, Tibu. Let's just say he wasn't doing too well. Afterwards we made our way to Mae West. The other day at school some kids said they were turned away from Mae West. I've ...

... he didn't think we were very funny. Something that caught my eye today was an older woman carrying two grocery bags tripped in the plaza. Everyone walking past her, men and women, ran to help. Honestly, not one person passed her by. It made me think of the United States compared to here, and made me sad. For dinner, Maria surprised us with pizza because earlier we were talking about foods that we eat a lot at home, or should I say ISU. She is really ...

... people and generally relaxing (which has been awesome!) Since I have limited us to one hill climb a day when the sun is up, we spend mornings down in town then have lunch and trek back up. After spending the next 6 hours recovering with fans and sangria (hey anyplace where booze is cheaper than water is ok by me....just kidding mum!) At night we have been sampling all the tapas bars and the tapas is free when you buy a drink so we have been having three drinks and three ...

... the meal for the night, getting to know my new friends and relaxing. That night we had a feast. Fried chiken, spaghetti, garlic mashed taters (perfected by myself), canndied yams, sauteed spininch, and salad. Excuse me as I shut my mouth and wipe the drool off of the key board! I must say as I sat at the table and looked around at my company I felt truly blessed to be with this group of people and to have the opportunity to even be on this side of the ...